Should cellphones be allowed when driving?

As the times have progressed, cell phones have become extremely prevalent in the daily lives of many. To add on, cell phone usage has also increased substantially. From playing music in the shower to using phones to keeping daily tasks organized, cell phones have grown to become an essential part of human life. It is hard to deny that cell phones have become so infused in our daily lives. This has caused many to pose the question as to whether or not cell should be allowed to be used in any capacity when operating a vehicle. While a total ban of cellphone usage may seem unrealistic,using a phone at any capacity not only poses a threat to the driver or the passengers but also other drivers on the road. Due to the risks posed by using a cell phone when driving, cell phones use should be banned when operating a vehicle.

To begin, cell phone usage when driving can cause a major distraction to the driver who is operating the vehicle. All cell phone users can vouch that having a cell phone comes with understanding that there are a plethora of different applications going on within that minuscule device. Loud notifications from social media sites and vibrating text messages from friends and family, even though they may seem important, are all distractions that come with having a device. When someone is distracted, their reaction time when operating the vehicle becomes impaired which poses a threat to everyone on the road, even if they are just a passenger. If cell phone usage is banned from drivers, it would not be the first time or first "place" that cell phone usage has been barred from. Cell phone usage has been restricted or banned from vital places such as school and the workforce. This is all for the reason that it can alter that particular person's effectiveness when trying to conduct or produce work. If cell phones are not allowed in these places because they distract people so greatly, why should they be allowed when someone is operating a car that weighs a few tons? Some may argue that cell phone usage should be allowed by drivers when operating a vehicle with certain restrictions. However, once drivers feel like they have the go ahead to use their cellphone in any capacity, some may still try to go above and beyond to break the rules. Using a phone at any capacity poses a huge risk for all people on the road.

Moreover,using a cellular device in a car is not necessary. According to a study conducted in 1995, only 13 percent of the United States population owned cell phones. This statistic goes to prove that before cell phones became widely popular; people were able to operate vehicles without it. Some may argue that phones provide GPS services that assist in getting drivers to their destination,which by all accounts is true. However, phones aren't the only devices that provide GPS services. There are actual GPS devices that prove way more accurate than cell phone applications. Also, these GPS devices pose way less of a threat when it comes to distracting drivers as they are strictly meant for giving directions instead of having multiple purposes. If drivers have some kind of emergency such as a death or injury in the family, drivers can pull into a parking lot or pull over on the side of the road in order to communicate with whomever they need to communicate with. There is no acceptable reason as to why one should be using their cell phone while operating a vehicle.

Lastly, when operating a vehicle in general you have the ability to kill someone due to your attention being impaired. When adding a person using a phone while operating a vehicle, the risk of killing someone increases. When operating a cellphone while driving, the drivers eyes can be taken off the road from anywhere to a few seconds to a few minutes. Driving is not a perfect situation. People constantly break,stop, speed up, and slow down. Taking eyes off the road for even one second can cause a serious accident on the road. The president of the National Safety Council reported that talking on a cellphone while driving makes one four times more likely to get in a crash. Talking on a phone is such a risk that the National Safety Council has called for a total ban on cell phone usage when driving due to the fact that 100 million people use their phones in a day. Using a cell phone when driving can not only jeopardize the drivers life but also passengers in their car and others on the road. Driving while using a device has the ability to cause a premature death when the drivers are distracted.

Cell phone usage when operating a vehicle at any capacity is extremely dangerous. This kind of activity poses a threat to not only drivers themselves but passengers and also other users of the road. Cell phone usage when driving can cause drivers to be distracted which in turn if not careful can cause a car crash that leads to serious injuries or death. Furthermore, cell phone usage in a car is not essential and drivers do not need it in order to drive. There is no reasonable explanation as to why cell phones should be used when driving. Laws need to be enacted in order to ban this unacceptable behavior and protect road users.

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